The Jazz Generation Band, Sacramento, CA
The Jazz Generation band was featured in the October/November 2019 issue 10, Lifoti Entertainment Magazine, November 2019: "Suzanne Brooks and the Innovative Musicians of The Jazz Generation perform in many genres. Twelve CDs and 2 musicals are the result. On November 20, 2021 The Jazz Generation performed their musical, “Great Women of Jazz: History of Music, 1890 to 1990” for the annual “Brilliance by the Bay” for San Francisco Regional MENSA Gathering. The Jazz Generation performs in concert, gigs or stage shows, with themes like the "Roaring Twenties" and "Harlem Renaissance" or themes from decades of Jazz, R&B, Latin, Blues, and Gospel.
Suzanne Brooks, Vocalist, Bandleader, and Song Writer is originally from Philadelphia, PA. Now based in Sacramento CA, she is still influenced by East Coast Jazz, R&B, The Philly Sound, Latin & Caribbean rhythm, love of language diversity--especially Spanish, folk songs and country music, and the influence of deep family Gospel roots. A Jazz Stylist who writes, produces & directs her own musical shows and recordings in her own studio, on her own label, she is an independent recording artist with 12 CDs, covers and original music.
Christopher Lee, Pianist/Keyboardist, began playing classical piano at the age of three and began learning jazz piano in high school. Chris continues to pursue his musical passion through frequent performances with Sacramento-area musicians. Chris attributes his jazz education to the formal and informal encounters he has had over the years with many musicians, including, Craig Faniani, Jerry Murphy, Bobby Bradford (Southern California), Joe Gilman, Steve Roach, Mike Kelley, Aaron Garner, and Paul Klempau. Since 2002, Chris has performed with groups such as the CSUS Latin Jazz Ensemble and the Moonlight Swing Big Band, and in Mondavi Center, the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, and the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival. He has served as the regular pianist of The Jazz Generation for nearly 20 years. He is an exceptional improvisor.
Alan Ginter, 2nd, Bassist, an exceptionally accomplished musician and teacher of multiple aspects of music in multiple institutions and countries Remarkably, he has remained a professional musician, touring the world with famous and not so famous jazz artists and pop stars, Reggae and blues bands, symphonies, chamber ensembles, and bluegrass bands. He has been on TV, radio, recordings and on stage on four continents and in most European capitals. An extraordinary educator, Alan has served as Music Program Director at the Independent Studies Arts Academy Company, Director of Instrumental Music, Director of Symphonic, Concert, and Beginning Bands, String Orchestra and Quartet, Drumline, and Chamber Ensembles at many educational institutions. Alan has directed Symphonic, Concert, Jazz, and Pep Bands, his work taking him to TED Ankara College, Turkey, where he supervised concerts for 13 full-time teachers and 6,000 students and wrote the national, K-12 music curriculum, as well as leading the experts who translated it into Turkish and presented it to the Ministry of Education. He has also taught in Bolivia.
Jack Stanfill, drummer/percussionist has played drums in small groups, big bands, concert bands, and orchestras playing traditional, be-bop, modern, and avant-garde jazz, country-western, Latin, pop, swing, jump, rock and roll, military, and Broadway music. Jack played in the III Marine Amphibious Force Drum & Bugle Corps in Vietnam, the Oregon Symphony, and Las Vegas lounge acts--The Del Reys and Sloopy and the Red Barons. Locally, Jack has played with Rob Swenson Trio, Sister Swing, Vivian Leigh, Ron Davis, Fred Morgan, The Jazz Auchestra, Swing City, and numerous other ensembles. He also played at the North Seas Jazz Festival with the Consumes River College Jazz Band and performed in "Oh What A Night - The Jersey Boys" at the Bear Valley Music Festival. Jack has a BA from University of Portland and a teaching credential, as well as Masters in Educational Technology from California State University.
Otis Mourning has been playing traditional jazz since his teens and is considered one of the premier clarinetists in the country. He is also much sought-after as a saxophonist in the Sacramento area and is the first call in bands of all kinds and stripes.
Sample Venues
California: San Jose, Holiday Inn; Hyatt Regency, Holiday Inn, California State Fair, Fulton Ave. Business Assoc., National Assoc. of Women Business Owners; Annual Sacramento Women of Color Day/Diversity Events; Country Clubs, Crest Theater, Shriners (Sacramento); St. Francis Yacht Club, Exloratorium, Fisherman's Wharf (San Francisco); University of California, Davis.
Austin: Renaissance Marriott, MEOW.com; Washington, DC: Hilton; New York: Harlem Theater
Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania; Harrsburg Community College
